


The inexistent finish line

by amelinkshepherd



Category: Grey's Anatomy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:14:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23514496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amelinkshepherd/pseuds/amelinkshepherd
Summary: A series of one-shots as Amelia and Link travel through parenthood, life at Grey Sloan and their respective families.
Relationships: Atticus Lincoln/Amelia Shepherd
Comments: 5
Kudos: 53





	1. Tired, hungry and back at the hospital

To say she was tired was a huge understatement. She was sleep deprived, hadn’t had a meal that didn’t come out of a box for two weeks and her boobs hurt. She also knew she wasn’t supposed to be back to work yet, but it was Dr. Webber. And if there was one thing she was determined to do was find out what was wrong with him. They had ruled out Alzheimers and Dementia but after his last episode Dr.Bailey had decided they would run a new set of neurological exams and MRI scans to see if anything new would appear, and help them finally pinpoint exactly what was wrong with him. Which was why she sneaked back into the hospital before her maternity leave was over. 

“Shepherd?” Bailey asked when she spotted the neurosurgeon right outside Dr. Webber’s room, with a two week old baby in her arms.

She turned around to find Bailey walking towards her, her face clearly surprised to see her back so soon, “What are you doing here? You’re on maternity leave” 

“I talked to Maggie and she told me you were running another MRI and an EEG” Amelia started to softly bounce the baby up and down when he began to fuss. 

“And we’ll have Koracick check them out in case something comes up, you did not have to come. You just had a baby and you should be at home. Resting.” 

“I’m fine Bailey, I have to be here. I’ve seen his previous scans, I’ve been on this case since the beginning. I should be the one running these ones..” Amelia argued and Bailey just sighed. 

“I won’t convince you to go back home, will I?” 

“Not really.” 

“Okay, then let’s go” Bailey sighed as she made her way inside Richard’s room. 

“I’ll be right in” Amelia smiled as she tried to decide whether or not to take Scout with her, thinking it probably wasn’t the best idea she turned around desperately, hoping to find a familiar face. She saw Helm out of the corner of her eyes in the nurses station. “Helm”

The intern looked up to find Dr. Shepherd standing right outside Dr. Webber’s room, “Yes, Dr. Shepherd?”

“Come here” Amelia ordered and just as the intern approached her she continued “We need to take Dr.Webber up to CT” 

“Okay, I’ll get him ready” Helm smiled, to be honest she was surprised they had chosen her out of all the interns to help in this case. Especially since the only ones working on it where either attendings or fellows, not even residents. 

“No, no. We’ll be taking him up to CT” Amelia motioned towards herself and the rest of the doctors within the room, “I need you to take him” she eyed the baby in her arms who had his eyes wide open and was looking around. 

“What?” Helm looked utterly surprised at the sudden turn of events. 

“I need you to take the baby Helm. It’s going to be fine, anything you might need is in the diaper bag” Amelia ever so gently passed the baby into Helm’s arms, “Okay, here we go. Mommy will be right back” She cooed.

“But Dr. Shepherd-”

“See this as practice for neonatal care” Amelia offered the scared intern a smile, “If he gets hungry there’s a bottle in the diaper bag, I’ll be back as soon as I can Helm, you’ve got this” And with that Amelia left, leaving Helm standing in front of the nurses station with a newborn, a stroller, a diaper bag and no idea what to do. 

Which was why she spent the next hour aimlessly walking around the cafeteria and the lobby, she tried to put the baby in the stroller but she opted otherwise when she couldn’t quite strap him in and he started to cry. So she left the stroller in the interns break room and she continued to walk around the hospital. And she was pissed, a combination that this was what she was assigned to do instead of a surgery and the fact that she wasn’t a baby person, something she was sure the baby felt because try as she might she couldn’t get him to fall asleep or stop crying for longer than 5 minutes.

“So you’re on babysitting duty?” She turned around to find Levi walking towards her, “What happened to:  _ I’m putting my foot down today and I’ll get into a surgery Levi, you’ll see. I don’t need to be roommates with an attending to get into surgery. I have talent to stand on _ ” He added giving her a mocking smirk. 

“Shut up” She grunted, “What was I supposed to tell Dr. Shepherd huh?” Helm questioned her best friend, “You would’ve done the same thing” She let out a frustrated sigh when the baby began to cry. Again. “But he won’t stop crying.” 

“Maybe he doesn’t like you, that’s why he’s crying” 

“Seriously shut up, the only reason he’s crying is because you’re annoying him” 

Before Levi could offer her a witty comeback they both saw Jo walking towards them, “Can you tell me why the hell you have a newborn on a surgical floor?” 

However, when the brunette got closer she recognized her crying godson in the interns arms. “Wait, is that Scout? Why do you have him? Is everything okay?” Jo began to panic as a million scenarios ran through her head. 

“Dr. Shepherd came in to run some tests on Dr. Webber and she asked me to take care of him,” Helm explained as the infant continued to cry in her arms. 

“Hand him over Helm.” Jo reached over to take the little boy and as soon as he was in her arms the crying ceased. “There we go,” Jo cooed. 

“See? I told you he didn’t like you” Levi whispered to Helm, and she rolled her eyes. 

“I’ll take care of him now” Jo reached over for the diaper bag, “Is this everything?” 

“I left the stroller in the interns room.”

“Bring it over to the attendings lounge, please” Jo ordered “And after check on my post-ops and let me know if anything comes up” She added a little too distracted by the baby in her arms. Helm nodded whilst Jo turned around and walked away, leaving a very grateful to not be on babysitting duty Helm behind. 

Link made his way into the hospital lobby; unshaved and tired. How he had managed to drive all the way to the hospital was a miracle because he was sure he hadn’t slept more than six hours in the past four days. Before he could decide where to start looking for his girlfriend and baby he heard Owen talking to him. 

“Link? What are you doing here?” 

“Have you seen Amelia and the baby?”

“Wait. Amelia’s here?” Owen asked, surprised. Just as Amelia walked out of the elevator followed by Maggie and Meredith. 

“Amelia!” Link called out when he spotted her. 

“Crap, I meant to text you, I’m sorry”

“I woke up to nothing and nobody. What are you doing here? Where’s Scout?” Link questioned as he stepped closer to her.

“He’s with Helm, I have to go check on Richard. I’m sorry, I’ll be back as soon as I can. I love you” 

“Leave me a note next time” Link sighed, before he turned around to look at Owen, “She’s not going to leave me a note is she?”

“I highly doubt it” Owen chuckled, “You look like hell though”

“Yeah” 

“You know you’re in a building full of beds right?”

“I just need to go lie down for a minute” Link yawned before he walked away, making his way to either an on-call room or the lounge room, whichever he found first. That’s why when he finally made it to the attendings lounge he found Jo sitting on the couch cooing happily at his son in her arms. 

“Hey, he’s with you. Amelia said he was with Helm” He walked over to them, sitting right next to Jo. Placing a hand on the baby’s leg and giving it a gentle squeeze. 

“Yeah, I ran into her and she looked like she was about to have a mental breakdown, so I took him” Jo explained, “Besides he’s so much happier with Aunt Jo aren’t you?” She cooed and both of them smiled when the baby gurgled as if to answer her. 

“Do you want to hold him?” She motioned to the baby to see if Link wanted to hold him. 

“No, knock yourself out” He shook his head, “I’m just going to close my eyes for a second” 

“You should also take a shower, because not only do you look terrible you smell terrible too.” Jo chuckled. 

“Yeah? Well be thankful I’m not covered in spit up, and umh…” He yawned again “Just umh..mhm”

Jo laughed when she turned around and saw him already asleep, “See, I think you broke your dad Scout”. 


	2. Beds, kicks and sleepy kisses

They sat side by side in bed. Sitting up, backs against the headboard and three hands on top of Amelia’s bump. Link impatiently waiting for what Amelia had promised was one of the highlights of being pregnant. And she meant it, something that last time worked as an agent of false hope, this time worked as a reminder that everything was okay. She felt it for the first time during a consult in the pit that morning and she had immediately been filled with fear because last time this hadn’t filled her with sadness or fear; this had given her a little glimpse of hope that only made the reality of the situation harsher. So when a tiny smile appeared on her face when she felt it for the first time she immediately wiped it off, and made her way towards Carina’s office. Who instantly assured her that everything was fine and that this was just what a healthy baby did, that this wasn’t just a reflex this was him moving around, consciously moving around. 

“Wow!” Link smiled the minute he felt something underneath the palm of his hand “I felt that” He exclaimed happily, and Amelia just laughed.

"No way!" Link exclaimed, his eyes filled with excitement when he felt more movement. That was his son, he was feeling his son move. Link barely felt it, but it was definitely there. He didn't imagine it, it wasn't too hard but it was there. Amelia smiled at Link’s enthusiasm,

“Now put your hand here” She moved her hand alongside Link’s to the other side of her bump, where a minute later they both felt the baby kick again. A wide smile on both their faces. 

“There’s another one,” Link laughed when he felt a few more shortly after, “We’ve got a soccer player here” he added and Amelia smiled, he leaned in closer to her bump “Are you going to be a soccer player dude?” 

“He’s been doing this all day” 

“You were right” Link looked up to look her in the eyes, “This is amazing” 

“I know” Amelia looked adoringly at Link who had the biggest smile she had ever seen plastered on his face as he felt their son moving around. And this comfortable silence fell around them as they both enjoyed this moment, both of them incredibly content to just be sitting with one another marveling over their unborn child. 

“You know Christopher kicked a couple of times” She said after a couple of minutes. The words leaving her mouth without really thinking it through, only truly registering what she had just said until she heard it. Link looked at her unsure of what to say or how to react, because he knew although she spoke more of him everyday it was still hard for her to talk about him, especially the further along she was into the pregnancy. “It was just a reflex, I knew that in the back of my mind but every time I felt him move it ignited this tiny fire of hope I had that maybe Jake and Addison were wrong, that maybe he would be okay.” 

“Amelia…” Link began but before he could say anything else Amelia continued. 

“I’m constantly looking for any type of sign that would reassure me that this time it was going to be okay, that he’s going to be okay. But no matter how many times I tell myself that he is fine, that he is healthy, that he has a brain, I can’t keep the fear at bay. Today however, after the initial panic I had when I felt him move for the first time I felt this wave of relief wash over me, as if he was letting me know he’s alright.” Amelia wiped away a few stray tears that were making their way down her cheeks, but Link’s heart breaks a little because there’s a pleading in her voice- something unguarded and vulnerable- that made him want to wrap his arms around her and never let her go, made with want to protect her against her own pain. “But I don’t know how to not worry, or how to not dare every stage and compare it to when I was pregnant with Christopher; and I know that it’s not fair to me or to this baby but how do I make myself less scared?”

Link took her hand in his, taking in a deep breath as he tried to find the right words, “I know I can’t possibly imagine what you went through, and I don’t…. I… I know it's always going to be part of you and it’s something you carry with you everyday, but this time is different, this time you’re not alone. So the fear? The worry? Anything and everything you get to put at least half of that on my back.” Amelia felt her heart swell and her eyes fill with tears as Link continued “I’m here Amelia, I’m here and I’m not going anywhere” 

Instinctively Amelia leaned in and pressed her lips against Link’s, allowing herself to get completely lost in it. Her hand curled around the back of his neck, and he moved one of his hands to the side of her face. It was slow and passionate, their mouth sliding together until she pulled back, tilting her head and he pressed his lips softly against her forehead. 

“Link…” Amelia whispered. 

“Everything is going to be okay, I promise” He moved both of his hands back to her bump, “He’s healthy and he’s growing and he’s not moving as a reflex he’s moving because he’s getting ready to kick everybody’s ass at soccer or at baseball. Aren’t you buddy?” He placed his hand back on top of Amelia’s bump soothingly. 

They both laughed when they felt the baby move, the slumberness that had recently moved into the room completely vanishing as Amelia’s fears were kept at bay by the movement of her baby boy. “See? Soccer star” Link winked at her, and he was right. Their baby was going to be fine and this right here was all Amelia would ever need to be safe. To be happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this one and that you have a great rest of the week!


	3. Better late than never?

She missed him, that’s all she could think about since halfway through her last surgery. Which meant that the minute she was finished she rushed through the paperwork and sent one of her residents to check on her post-ops so she could go pick him up from day-care. She was weary about coming back to work but at the same time she was so ready to interact with adults, there was a limited amount of times she could play peek a boo before wanting to push her head through the wall. However, coming back had been a lot trickier than she had imagined, she thought she would fall back into her routine like nothing had happened but no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t go more than a few hours without needing to check up on him. Something Meredith reassured her was normal and that the only way to fix it was with time. She wasn’t really paying attention to her surroundings as she practically ran to her destination, only stopping when her phone vibrated in her pocket. Taking it out she saw Link’s text. ‘Got out of my surgery a little early so I picked up Scout, we’re waiting for you in the lobby’. 

Although Link had been more discreet about it she knew he was also having a hard time with being back at work. And as hard as he had tried to hide it from her, she figured it out the third time she ran into him at daycare on her first day back, which just continued to happen more times than he would like to admit since. She replied and turned on her heels as she made her way back to the elevator so she could catch up with her boys. The simple thought of them instantly brought a huge smile to her face; a smile that was wiped off her face the minute the elevator doors opened and she looked up to find her sisters.

Nancy and Liz. 

“Amy!” Liz gave her a welcoming smile, but Amelia’s brain was still too busy processing the fact that two of her sisters were standing in front of her to respond in any sort of way. 

“You are here! In Seattle, at the hospital!” Amelia looked at both of them wide eyed. 

“How are you kiddo?” Nancy pulled her into an awkward hug before Amelia could even register what was happening. 

“I’m g-good” Amelia involuntarily or at least unconsciously followed her sister a little further away from the elevator and into the lobby, “What are you doing here?” 

“Nancy had a case at Seattle Press and I have a meeting in town this weekend, so we figured we’d come visit you” Liz placed her hand on Amelia’s arm, “You cut your hair, I’ve always liked how you look with your hair short.” Amelia couldn’t help but cringe at her comment, how Liz ever denied being exactly like their mother was a mystery to her. “It’s been so long, when was the last time I saw you? Six years ago?”

“Yeah, about six years ago” Amelia nodded. 

“You did miss our dinner party the last time Amelia was in New York” Nancy eyed Amelia sneeringly and Amelia resisted the urge to just turn around and walk away because she refused to go through this again. “It was interesting to say the least”

“Well then catch me up, what have you been up to?” Liz looked at her little sister inquisitively. 

“Not much,” Amelia shook her head hoping that if she gave them short cold answers she would be able to sneak away without getting the fourth degree. 

“Seriously a hot shot neurosurgeon with nothing going on?” Liz questioned and Amelia knew exactly what she was trying to do, she was trying to make AMelia feel good about herself so she would open up and then she could criticize every single thing that came out of her mouth. “What about your love life? Anything new? Any new husbands we should know about?”

Amelia found herself at a loss of words as she debated whether or not to tell them about Link, especially because she knew that if she told them about him she would end up telling them about Scout and she didn’t know how they were going to react. She was sure as hell though not ready for them to criticize every single decision that landed her here, because that baby was the best thing that had ever happened to her. 

However, as she was deciding what to do she saw Link walking towards them with Scout in his arms, “Look buddy, there’s mommy” He cooed a little too loudly for her liking before she could make faces at him so he could walk away unharmed by her sisters. Liz and Nancy turned around instantly, and the minute Link recognized Nancy he understood the face Amelia was giving him. 

“Link right? I believe we met before” Nancy gave him a mocking smile, before her brain caught up with her and asked the question both her and Liz really wanted to ask, “Wait… did you just say mommy?” 

“You had a baby?” 

Link and Amelia looked at each other before Amelia turned around to face him and Scout. 

“Hi baby, come here” She cooed as she took the two month old from Link’s arm into her own, turning back around to her sisters, smiling when she saw the little smirk on her son’s face. “Liz, Nancy, this is Scout. Our son.”

Liz and Nancy found themselves out of words as they stared at their sister and nephew. 

“Look I know you probably have like a million questions and I-”

“You have a baby…” Nancy interrupted her as she took a step closer to her, “Hello Scout” She took the little boy’s hand and he wrapped it around her finger. “Can I?” She motioned to the baby.

“Yeah” She passed the baby ever so carefully into her sisters arms, and Scout gave his aunt the tiniest smile. Which Nancy took as evidence that he liked her, but Link and Amelia knew that he would very easily give that smile to anyone who would hold him, anyone. “Or maybe you don’t have questions…” Amelia turned around to look at Link, and she could see he was as confused as she was by their reaction. 

“Oh no, we have questions alright” Liz said, not even looking up at her as she approached Nancy and placed her hand soothingly over Scout’s leg. “You’ll just answer them over dinner, won’t she Scout?” She said in a baby voice and the baby cooed in return. “God look at these cheeks” 

“Dinner?” 

“Yes, and we don’t live here so your place?” 

“Sure” Link nodded, “We can do dinner”

“We can?” Amelia turned over to Link wide eyed, before he gave her a look that made her realize they didn’t really have a choice. “Okay, we’ll do dinner” she said to her sisters who were way too preoccupied by the baby to pay any real type of attention to her. 

“Look at least this time you’ll be in your turf” Link whispered, as Amelia mentally prepared for what seemed was going to be a very very long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're all staying safe and you and your loved ones are okay! Sending love to you all!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks you so much for reading! If there are any prompts you wish to submit please do! Any who stay safe and be happy!!


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